Musk spent roughly three more hours on the stand during his third day of testimony before being excused by U.S. District Judge
Musk, who also owns
At two separate junctures Tuesday under Spiro’s gentle prodding, Musk left no doubt about his contempt for Porritt with a remark expressing doubt that the lawyer was looking out for the best interests of
When he was being challenged by Porritt, Musk purposefully diverted his gaze from the lawyer and delivered his explanations while looking directly at the jurors sitting a few feet to his right. In another instance, Musk asserted, without elaborating, that a question from Porritt wondering if he had ever caused investors to suffered losses contained “falsehoods."
On the flip side, Spiro at one point mistakenly addressed Musk as “your honor" while asking the billionaire how much money he had made for investors during his career. The slipup elicited a moment of levity in the
The current trial hinges on whether a pair of tweets Musk posted on
In the first of the 2018 tweets, Musk stated “funding secured” for what would have been a
After those tweets, Musk declared
Musk has previously contended he entered into the settlement under duress and maintained he never wavered in his belief that he had the money for a deal.
Musk spent most of Tuesday trying to persuade the jurors that there was nothing devious about the two tweets indicating he had lined up the money to take
While being steered by Spiro, Musk told jurors he had stated only that he was “considering” a
“I had no ill motive,” Musk said. “My intent was to do the right thing for all shareholders."
While being grilled the day before by Porritt, Musk at times was combative, indignant and exasperated. Through it all, Musk has insisted he locked up financial backing for what would have been a
When presented with texts and email indicating that a representative for the Saudi fund had never pledged the money for a full buyout of
Not long after Porritt resumed his questioning Tuesday, Musk once again scoffed at the notion that his belief that he had the Saudi funding's financial backing wasn't enough for him to tweet about a potential
“We are talking about the kingdom of
Musk also reiterated earlier testimony that he could finance a
That's something that Musk said Tuesday that he didn't want to do, but that it showed he had the wherewithal to pull together purchases for expensive deals. Musk's ownership of
Despite that downturn, the stock is still worth about seven times more than at the time of Musk's 2018 tweets, after adjusting for two splits that have since occurred. That opened the door for Musk to remind jurors Tuesday that any investor who held
“It would have been the best investment in the stock market," Musk said.
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